章 53: Power is No Substitute for Skill
Arawn lowered his hands, breathing hard. The ether shined in front of him, stealing his night vision. It didn't matter though. He had once again let his emotions get the better of him.
There was no doubt that Corwal would be dead, and it would be his fault again. "People like me do—"
He didn't get to finish his sentence. A dark shape cut through the light and punched him right in the stomach. Arawn gasped for air as he fell back, too stunned to even try cushioning his fall.
Corwal stood in the background of fading ether with a scornful expression. His hair wasn't singed and his clothes had suffered no damage. There was not the slightest hint that he had just rushed through a storm of ether and survived.
He took a step forward and pointed the tip of his blade against Arawn's neck. "Dead again."
"How… how did you do that?" Arawn demanded. He raised himself to a sitting position, but didn't make a move to stand up. "It was pure ether…"
A part of him was beyond glad that Corwal was still alive, but the rest was in total shock. Avoiding his ether blades was no great feat; many had done that before. However, he had sent over a dozen of them this time, leaving no room for dodging. How was he still alive then?
"Stand up."
"No. Tell me what you did first."
Arawn refused to move. He sat on the ground damp from evening dew and stared at Corwal. Something impossible had happened, and he was not going to just let it pass. His mind had returned, and he wanted answers.
"Watch it better next time."
They stared at each other for a while more, neither one moving.
An owl hooted somewhere in the distance. Its call reminded Arawn that it was late in the evening. If he wanted to return to the inn before dawn, he was better off just giving Corwal what he wanted.
Slowly, he stood up with all of his body aching. His injuries from the Challenge hadn't yet healed, and he was already covered in even more bruises. There was probably not a patch of skin that wasn't discolored from blunt strikes.
The moment he straightened, Corwal rushed forward. This time, Arawn didn't hesitate to bring forth a flood of ether and send it toward his friend. Corwal dodged the first few ether blades, then raised his left hand. It extended toward the blade about to slice him in half and dismissed it.
One moment the ether blade was there, and the next it shattered into white sparks that blinked out of existence. With no one obstructing his path anymore, Corwal appeared right before Arawn and sent him to the ground once more.
Lying there, Arawn thought about what he had seen. In the duels, he had been certain that his attacks were unstoppable. Although winning had been a lot harder than he expected, it was a predetermined outcome. None of those people had a real chance to defeat him.
Yet when he used the same attacks against Corwal, they had a similar effect as trying to choke a tree. To say that he was not gaining any ground would be an understatement.
A part of him was extremely discontent with that. He was fine with not being the best, but this was… All of his life, he had been revered and hated as the unstoppable monster. It was part of his self-image.
Then how was he so easy to deal with for that man?
With determination glowing in his eyes, Arawn stood up and called to the ether. If Corwal wanted to see who was stronger, they should do it for real. From then on, Arawn wouldn't be holding anything back.
He said that, but the outcome didn't change. Again and again, he landed on his butt when Corwal went past his guard. If Arawn sent fewer ether blades to be able to see what was happening, Corwal dodged them. If he sent a whole storm of them, Corwal dismissed those in his way and reached him anyway.
There was just no winning for Arawn. In the end, he tried playing tricks like using ether's bright light to blind and creating paper-thin shields. They didn't save him, but Corwal no longer managed to hit him with his first attack.
Strengthened by this discovery, Arawn thought of other ways to trick his opponent. He would hide ether blades behind each other, time his attacks differently, or send them from unexpected angles. It didn't give him a win, but Corwal began to tire as well. He couldn't relax his guard or an ether blade would cleave him apart.
When Arawn stood up for what felt like a thousandth time, he was barely holding himself up. His legs shook from exhaustion, threatening to give way at any moment. Still, Arawn brushed away the sweat running into his eyes and pulled the hair behind his ears. It had gotten loose and was getting into his eyes.
Corwal was standing back in his original position. He looked a lot better, but his breaths weren't even either. They turned into white puffs in the cold night air.
For the hundredth time already, Arawn raised his hands. Ether came to them without any hesitation, but he had trouble forcing himself to move his limbs. They were as heavy as if he was holding a fully grown man on each one. It took a lot of effort to just swing his right hand.
Ether blades flashed in the night, lighting up their surroundings. There weren't that many of them, so Arawn materialized ether particles all along the way to Corwal. This made the whole world light up.
It was bright enough to blind anyone, and Arawn thought to fall back to avoid the first strike, but he was just too tired. He wasn't certain if he would remain standing if he tried to take a step. Instead, he called more ether to himself and materialized it.
The brightness made even him close his eyes. Effectively blind, he awaited the attack that he knew was coming. He could hear Corwal's feet thudding against the ground. The man had attacked him in the same so many times that Arawn instinctively knew the timing.
One, two, and his eyes flew open. He coalesced five ether blades. Right when Corwal was about to punch him, he sent them into his friend. Surprise flitted past the man's features before he went down.
Or so Arawn thought. Corwal ducked and swept Arawn's feet from under him. He landed on the ground with a heavy thud and didn't move. There was no longer any strength left in his body.
"That was pretty good," Corwal said while sitting down by his side. "You really tried to kill me there."
"I…"
At some point, Arawn had forgotten that he was playing with his friend's life. Once his anger passed and his competitive spirit awakened, he only thought about how to win. The fact that it would mean Corwal's death had slipped past his mind.
"How did you dodge it this time?" he asked, not wanting to admit that he had grown careless. Again.
"I didn't." Corwal sheathed his blade and opened the pocket that was right above his heart. From it, he brought out a handful of black stones.
Arawn ordered ether to light up so he could see better. The moon was still hiding behind the clouds, too embarrassed to have lost to the light from the Earth.
With a lot of effort, Arawn extended his hand, and Corwal dropped one of the stones in it. One touch was enough to know what they were—onyx. The fact that Arawn needed to be this close to the gem to recognize it spoke a lot about his mental state. His exhaustion turned him blind.
"You weren't at any risk," he said slowly while dropping the onyx back into Corwal's hand. "With this many of them, you could probably survive five ether blades if not more."
"And you sent them in droves, so I don't know about that safety. With you around, it's a relative term."
Corwal returned the gems into his pocket and closed it. His breathing had already evened out, and he pushed himself to his feet. "Come on, let's go back to the inn. You'll feel more comfortable sleeping in the bed."
"That's all you gotta say?" Arawn asked with closed eyes. At some point, his eyelids had fallen shut, and he couldn't be bothered to force them open. It would require more energy than he possessed at that moment.
"What do you want to hear?"
"An explanation would be nice."
There was no answer. Corwal straightened his appearance and walked away.
With a heavy sigh, Arawn rolled over and put his hands on the ground. It was going to be a challenge, but he didn't want to be left alone in the woods at night. Nothing would happen to him, but being sick was not fun. Bad things happened when he lost his ability to think clearly.
When he caught up to Corwal, who was walking at the speed of a turtle to give him a chance, he finally spoke. "I thought I had time to teach you slowly, but we get into fights wherever we go. And you're horrible at them. Yet you were so certain you were invincible because of your control of ether."
Arawn stayed quiet, focusing on moving one foot before the other through the animal trail. There were a number of roots on the ground which did their best to catch his feet.
"So you're saying that the beating was for my own good?"
"Did you grasp the lesson?"
When he didn't say anything, Corwal chuckled and pushed away the branch blocking his way. "I would have more trouble stealing a chick from its mother hen than defeating you. And I'm not not alone like that. You've got plenty of power, but not the slightest idea how to use it."
"Can you leave the lecturing for tomorrow? I barely remember my own name right now."
"As long as you're finally aware of how weak you really are, today wasn't a waste."
Arawn threw a dark look at his friend. "I think four hours of being punched and kicked was enough. If not, I'll just look at all the bruises."
"Come on, it was all for your own good. Now you know that you're really rock bottom when it comes to duelling."
"Thanks. Next time, I'll beat you up to the point you can barely walk for some obtuse reason as well. See how you'll like that."
But even if Arawn said that, he knew that Corwal had been right. Maybe not in execution, but in idea for sure. He had thought that he could not be held back, that his lack of skill could be substituted with more power.
Yet that showed up to only be a pipe dream. More power worked against weak opponents, but against masters of their craft, it was nothing more than a paper dragon. He couldn't touch Corwal when the man wasn't even fighting for real, just rushing at him in a mindless manner.
Somehow, the more Arawn learned how the world and ether worked, the less he seemed to know. Back in the Gutter, he had been an unrivaled terror, but the moment he left, he turned into something a lot smaller and less dangerous.
Instead of exhilarating, it was terrifying however. If he couldn't defend himself, wouldn't he be at the mercy of those around him? If they tried to hurt him to unleash the monster, there would be nothing he could do.
A shiver ran down his body, and Corwal glanced back. "You cold? We're almost at the inn. I'll ask them to prepare a hot bath for you."
"Thanks."
Arawn focused back on walking while chasing away the gloomy thoughts. Corwal was his friend. Even if he said and did many questionable things, none of them had hurt him before. The lesson was only to help him realize his shortcomings.
Without it, his mind might have been peaceful, but he would have been living a lie. This was for the better. Now he knew how he needed to improve himself.
A sigh escaped his lips at that thought. There were just so many things that needed his attention, and with every day, something new popped up.
"Don't look so downcast," Corwal said while turning back. There was a reassuring smile on his face. "For someone who's missing twenty years of experiences and education, you're doing amazing. In a few years, I'm sure you'll become a legend. No one will be able to match you."
"Even you?" Arawn asked with some bitterness in his tone. He didn't want to be a legend. Others could have all the fame and fortune while he only wanted a peaceful life without anyone able to set him off again.
Corwal chuckled. "Who knows. Maybe."
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